


(and once the cat said) good fortune within these whiskers

by sassycatpants



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alice in Wonderland fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gaming AU, Gen, Harvest Moon AU, Implied Cloud/Yuffie in past life, Post canon, Reincarnation AU, basically i indulge my need for dark!winged!cloud, cloud does the wooing thing, human!yuffie, kingdom hearts - Freeform, like super duper short, short fic, tengu!cloud, winged!cloud, yuffie does not appreciate it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-03-19 15:24:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3614874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassycatpants/pseuds/sassycatpants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Home is where the heart is, and he’d placed his in her hands forever ago, when the world was still small and bright and full of flowers.</em><br/>Collection of Clouffie shorts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You should totally disregard the title, it honestly doesn't mean anything at all and isn't actually relevant to the drabbles posted here. Yet, anyway. Eventually there might be one about a cat and its lucky whisker because now it's a thought I'm having. We'll see. Anyway-- There's not nearly enough Clouffie in the world to satisfy me, and it's an extremely hard to find pairing for me for some reason, which sucks 'cause it's actually my OTP for FFVII. So I am writing my own!
> 
> This is probably going to end up being a collection of all Clouffie drabbles I end up writing on tumblr, so eventually the tags will reflect that, but for now they're just based on this one drabble thing.  
> Also this thing is actually an rp partner's fault because we were discussing reincarnation aus and tengu!Cloud and this came to mind for me. (I even made a Tseng RPer sad, that's half my quota of "angrily capslocking at me" posts fulfilled for today.)

She dreams of flying for years, soaring on wings not her own; strange half memories of chasing clouds (there’s a joke in there, about chasing clouds and being carried by a cloud, but she can’t quite put her finger on it, slipping away like smoke on the breeze) and dodging through branches as the wind rushes by. She feels feathers brushing her skin as she’s cocooned inside of them, remembers sunshine gold and eyes so blue it’s like Leviathan placed the very sky inside of them with the clarity only dreams could bring — the sort that fades away with the morning sun, until all Yuffie faintly recalls is that there had been a blue sky.

Yuffie collects crow feathers, ignoring the uneasy offers to find more brightly colored feathers, or perhaps something else entirely like beads or scales? Surely she doesn’t need crow’s feathers. ( _Crows were bearers of good fortune once, but now they only carry death and despair upon their wings.)_ Something, anything else will do.

 _Black feathers,_  she thinks instead, unsure what she is recalling but knowing with certainty that it’s right.  _Dark as the night of a new moon, but warm too. They kept me safe, until they didn’t. (_ Yuffie’s not sure what that means, but it’s important.) She collects more and more feathers, until one day realizes she has almost enough to make her own wings if she wanted.

She doesn’t, but she looks to the sky and wonders.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like this one tbh, lmao. The only part I like is the Sephiroth bit, which was the very first line I wrote. The rest of it came afterwards.

Wings flare, and red fills his vision. Somewhere behind him is Yuffie’s voice, muffled and distorted like he’s underwater but Cloud isn’t listening anymore. He’s going to kill all of them, and enjoy every second of it.

Cloud moves, and loses himself.

* * *

Yuffie swears under her breath as she realizes Cloud can’t hear her anymore; she needs to get closer if she wants tp bring him back to his senses, but the WRO soldiers are _in the damn way_  and Cloud himself is slashing at anything that comes within sight.

If she wants to stop him, she’s going to have to be faster than him.  _And isn’t that asking the sun to rise in the west and set in the east?_  Still, there’s nothing else she can do and the ninja slides into motion.

Over firing rifles, around men barking commands — Yuffie maneuvers around all of them to get closer and closer to Cloud. No one  _listens_  when she tells them to stop, that they’re only making it worse, of course. Even Reeve is ignoring her at this point, and she gives it up as a bad job fairly quickly; Cloud’s the important one here, and she needs to save him even if it’s from himself.

Yuffie loses count of the bodies behind her, stops even trying to keep up with the numbers when she sees Cloud and rushes forward.

“ _Cloud_!” There’s a pause and for a second she think she’s gotten through— And then he’s swinging again, fusion sword glittering in the light and Yuffie has to throw herself aside to try again.

* * *

“ _Cloud!”_

_Someone’s calling him. It’s far away, getting louder… does it matter? He’s not Cloud. Not human. Just a monster. Only monsters have wings._

_“_ **_You’re not a monster. You’re Cloud._ Just** _**Cloud!** ”_

_Hadn’t he heard that before…? **Yuffie**!_

Eyes clear, Cloud looks down and feels his heart stop. It’s Yuffie, reaching up to touch his cheek fondly, heedless of the blood covering her hands.

And maybe there’s something of Sephiroth inside of him after all, because she’s standing there with his sword through her chest and all he can think is that he’s a monster—

Why does she keep _smiling at him?_

_Birds have wings too, Cloud. We talked about this._   _You’re meant to fly._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The humor of Yuffie and Cloud playing FFXIV together struck me and I had to do it. Also the 'use flash' 'you guys are strong enough' thing totally came from a conversation in a linkshell on XIV where we were told the story of a shitty tank who did not use flash.]

"Y'know," Yuffie says absently, sprawled across Cloud's lap and not actually looking away from the screen as her fingers flew across her game controller. "This would probably work better if you actually used flash. Then you'd stop losing aggro and I wouldn't have to pull trash mobs off the healer while you tried to pull them off me every time we run into them." Cloud grunts in response, eyes flicking between Yuffie's character on the tv screen and his own on the laptop screen. After a pause and another trash mob he finally opens his mouth to reply, and Yuffie elbows him sharply.

"I swear to Leviathan that if you say 'you guys are strong enough' I will leave this dungeon so fast you'll have virtual whiplash." Cloud's mouth snaps shut, and she smirks. "Seriously though. Use flash and stop being a dick."

Cloud doesn't respond, but he starts using flash in his combo and Yuffie lets the thread of conversation drop for awhile as she loses herself in the noise of the game sound effects and his music player plugged in across the room. It's three dungeons and a raid later before the Wutai princess finally drops her controller onto the couch in front of her and twists herself around to look up at her boyfriend, still absorbed in the game.

"Cloooud."

"What?" He tears his eyes away from the screen to look down at the girl still in his lap.

"How much do you love me?" Yuffie asks, eyes wide and trying to look more innocent than she can ever be.

"That depends entirely on whether or not my response will lead to you asking me to do something dangerous, illegal, expensive, time consuming, stupid or all of the above. Why?"

Yuffie huffs, reaching up to tug his hair gently in reproach before she continued with her original question. "It's not any of those! Well, maybe time consuming or expensive but only 'cause of RNGesus." Her hands clasp together under her chin, and she smiles brightly. "But I  _reeeeeallyy_ want an Onion Knight minion! Can you get me one?" Cloud narrows his eyes, before he exhales slowly.

"So you want me to farm the Tower for an Onion Knight because you're too lazy to do it yourself."

"And because you love me."

"Yes I do and no, I'm not." He smirks as she gives an outraged squawk, rolling off his lap to glare at him. "But I will buy you one off the Market board so get off the floor and come do another dungeon with me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud inherits a farm, falls in love, and Yuffie lives in a magical pond. (alternate title: Yuffie wishes that new guy would stop throwing things into her house.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on and off on a Wonderland thing for this collection and it's getting sort of long. I'd intended that to be the next one I posted, buuuuut I picked up the new Harvest Moon (Story of Seasons, now!) yesterday and now Cloud wants to be a farmer.
> 
> Yuffie just wants him to stop throwing stuff in her house.

There was a strawberry on the floor.

For a moment Yuffie stared at it, willing it to explain itself, but no explanation was forthcoming from the fruit. Finally, with an irritated (and slightly exaggerated) sigh, she reached down to scoop the strawberry up; the only way she was going to get an explanation was if she sought out the one who'd thrown it, she supposed. With that thought in mind, she headed for the surface of the Goddess Pond, determined to get answers.

She wasn't expecting the stranger, fingers covered in strawberry juice, to be standing there at the edge of the Pond.

* * *

 To be fair, he'd thought it was a joke -- something the locals told tourists, or new residents as a lark. _"T_ _here's a goddess who lives inside the pond up on the mountain, she's what keeps this land so fertile! And if you an offering into the pond every day, eventually she'll come out and grant you a wish. Her favorite thing is strawberries. Wanna buy some?"_   _Maybe they do it just to trick you into making a sale or two,_ he'd thought, grudgingly buying a handful of strawberries. He hadn't believed it at all, but he'd had to head up the mountain today  _anyway_ , to forage for stuff he could sell.

So on a whim, he'd tossed the fruit as he was passing by. And then he'd stood there, sucking strawberry juice off his fingers absently as he waited a moment to see if the stories were true. Would a goddess rise up from the pond and grant a wish for him? (What would he even wish for? That he'd never inherited the crappy, run down farm his grandfather had left him? That he'd not failed the SOLDIER exams? That he was stronger, better, smarter -- that Nibelheim hadn't been such a backwoods, shithole of a town?) When nothing had happened, he'd been ready to call it a bust and continue on his way; he'd even gone so far as to step away from the pond.

That was when she'd risen out of the water, strawberry in hand and the most  _unimpressed_ expression he'd ever seen. And then she threw the strawberry at him.

"Do you have  _any idea_ how rude it is to throw fruit into someone else's home!" Yuffie demanded, hands on her hips as she scowled at the man standing in front of her. "Because it is!  _Very_ rude!" She stepped forward, right off the water and onto the lush grass, and Cloud stepped backwards reflexively but she kept coming forward, until they were nearly nose to nose, and began to jab her finger at his chest to emphasis her point.

"You don't see  _me_ going up to your window and throwing fruit into  _your_ home, do you?" She paused, clearly waiting for an answer. and Cloud fumbled for a moment, surprised.

"I--" What could he say? Apologies, maybe -- she seemed to be expecting one, almost.  _Good enough place to start._ "I'm sorry? I just-- they told me strawberries were your favorite and I thought...?"

Thought something.

Yuffie's eyes narrowed at him, purple irises darkening in annoyance. "What's your name?"

"Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"Ah."  _So he's the new farmer Marlene and Denzel found? Doesn't look like much -- how those sprites think he's the one meant to breathe new life into the land is a mystery to me, but I suppose we'll see._ "Well, Mr. Strife. Do me a favor and  _don't think_ anymore. Or throw fruit into my house." _  
_

With that, Yuffie turned and stepped back onto the pond's surface. Cloud watched her sink down out of sight, before he reached down to pick up the strawberry she'd hit him with thoughtfully.

He was totally in love with a woman who lived inside a magical pond.

* * *

Today it was flowers. 

Apparently Cloud had taken the direction not to throw  _fruit_ into her house anymore that first day rather literally; instead, he threw  _everything else_ into her pond. Daily 'gifts' sat in various corners, and though she'd appeared to yell at him the first few times he had come back, Yuffie had quickly realized that was exactly what he had been going for. Since then, she'd simply ignored him and refused to surface.

And yet he kept coming  _back_.

"Doesn't he have better things to do?" she groused to her Sprites, and Marlene shrugged delicately.

"He does do all of his work though. Giving you gifts is just... what he does on his way home, I suppose. He's in love with you. I heard him telling Tifa so when she asked him to the Fireworks festival last week." She hid a smile behind her hand as Yuffie made an unhappy noise, throwing something or other against the walls of her home. Denzel snorted softly and moved to clean it up, ignoring his Goddess' fierce glare.

"Perhaps you should give him a chance," the older Sprite commented idly, when Yuffie had finished her latest rant on idiot farmers. "Maybe you'll be surprised." The woman paused, giving Denzel a suspicious look before finally nodding slowly.

"Fine. If he can impress me then I will give him a chance to 'woo' me or whatever nonsense he has in mind. But only one!"

"Of course, of course," he agreed smoothly. He and Marlene exchange amused looks as their Goddess swept away to the surface world, intent on finding Cloud and informing him of her new decision. They had no doubt that Cloud was going to win Yuffie's heart, one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cut it off here but there's likely to be more in this 'verse because HM aus are great and I do have a lot of thoughts about it, haha. Any other pieces will probably delve further into relations with other villagers as well though, so anything else in this verse is likely to be a separate story. ~~I'm already having thoughts on plots tbh.~~


	5. to hat a cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bits of this were originally written on a Styrofoam fast food container because I have a habit of writing inspired snippets on whatever writable surface I have at hand when the idea strikes.
> 
> This isn't actually important to anything at all, I just wanted you all to smell french fries and chicken tenders while  
> you read this. (Also, the poem was done entirely on purpose. That's how Yuffie wrote it.)
> 
> This took like two weeks to write though, oops. It underwent a lot of editing and rewriting in various parts.

_Mad Hatter, Mad Hatter with wings all aflutter;_  
_went 'round the bend and twixt the trees_  
_right up to the den of the fox family._  
_And he called out to them -- mind you, t'was just after three,_  
_'Come out, come out! We must serve the tea!'_  
_'Mimsy were, and mimsy won't,'_  
_cried the foxes inside of their hole-- they refuse to come out!_  
_And none can fault them for their caution,_  
_for you see, I am the Jabberwocky,  
_ _and the Jabberwocky is_ _me._

 _\---_ _Yuffie, Cheshire Cat_

* * *

"Lower your ears for me now, that's a good girl." The measuring device continued around the shape of her head as Yuffie's ears flattened; nearly cross eyed from the effort of trying to watch Cloud's expression when he was so close to her face, Yuffie felt more than heard her tail drumming a sharp beat against the stool she sat on. Cloud ignored it, though his wings shifted slightly into a more flight ready stance. Feeling almost satisfied at the prey like response, she tilted her head to look up, only to have him grab her chin and forcibly return her head to the previous position. "Not yet, I'm almost done the measurements."

"Cat's don't wear hats, y'know," she felt obligated to point out. ( _If he made you a hat, you'd never take it off, my dear,_ whispered the voice of the Red Queen JENOVA in her mind, and she ignored it with ease of practice. The persona her conscience chose always baffled her, because there was _nothing_ good or honest about JENOVA, so why would that be the voice she heard when her subconscious wanted her to be honest?)

"Nonsense.  _Everyone_ needs a good hat! It's only good sense." Cloud turned away to note down some numbers on a piece of paper before looking up again. "Now, do you want something purple to match your lovely eyes, or something dark to complement your clothes?" Yuffie bit down ruthlessly on the giddiness that welled up within her when he called her eyes  _lovely,_ and chose instead to focus on the questions.

"Whatever's fine, I don't care. You always know what works anyway so just do whatever you think looks alright. I'm not gonna wear it, you know." She crossed her arms, turning away to study a hat rack thoughtfully. ( _Tsk tsk, lying? Whatever will dear Alice say?_ ) 

 "Of course you won't."

"Really I won't."

Cloud hummed lightly in response to her denial, already absorbed in his newest creation, so Yuffie left.

 _Alice is here!_ the trees whispered excitedly, fluttering in an unfelt wind hours later, just as she'd found the perfect spot in their branches to nap. Yuffie's ears twitched and swiveled, trying to keep up as voices overlapped and talked over each other, jumbling together until they resembled a running river more than conversation.  _She's returned. Alice has come back to us! She's here, she's here, she's come back through the White Rabbit's hole! Isn't it **wonderful**?_

"Ah, finally," she said aloud, as her soul sang out in joy.  _(_ _Alice had come back, and their story would play out again as Alice breathed life into the withering magic once more._ ) Magic pulsed eagerly in the air, and Yuffie allowed her form to slip as she took to the branches to make her way back to the Hatter's home. It was only fair to warn Cloud that Alice had finally come back home, so that he could prepare for his part. The Hare probably already knew, because Kunsel always seemed to know things before everyone else.

Maybe  _this_ Alice could ask the right Question and defeat the Red Queen. ( _Maybe she could free them all from JENOVA and bring back the true Red Queen; the Hatter could have his time back and the Cat could retrieve her form from the White Queen._ )

* * *

"But I'm  _not_ Alice," Tifa cried in exasperation as she was left alone within the forest. Childishly, she stomped a foot and inexplicably felt a little bit better. At least, she did until the voice asked from above, "But you are  _here_ , are you not?"

She whirled, glaring up into the trees. "And if I am? That does not make me Alice!"

"But it does. Didn't you know? Only  _Alice_ can ever find the path to Wonderland, so if you are here then you simply must be Alice."

"But my name is  _Tifa_!"

"And? Names aren't important, they only tell us  _what_ you are.  _Who_ you are is another matter entirely, my darling." Yuffie allowed herself to fall from the trees, landing in a crouch -- the grin she gave Tifa was nearly wide enough to split her face in two. "For example, I am Yuffie but that means absolutely nothing in the scheme of things, because I am the  _Cheshire Cat_ and that is who I am not what." Hands on her hips, she circled the other woman. "And you, I am afraid, are  _Alice_. Or maybe you were Alice once, or will be in the future or perhaps someday long ago in the past that never happened, and the future that will never be. It does not matter, for once you were Alice and forever you will be so. Now, does that explain things any better?"

It explained absolutely nothing, but Tifa didn't say so, because she suspected she'd only get yet another confusing monologue. Instead, she tried to follow Yuffie's motions with her eyes. (A fruitless endeavor destined to make her oddly seasick, but a valiant attempt nonetheless.) "Then this really is Wonderland?"

"But of course. I thought we settled this."

Tifa groaned, burying her face in her hands. "How did I  _get_ here?"

"Are you really going to ask so obvious a question? Through the White Rabbit's Hole, clearly. Maybe you don't remember it, or maybe you didn't pay attention but the Rabbit's Hole takes on many forms. Did you go through a door recently? He's very fond of doors."

Tifa scowled before she stormed away, and Yuffie laughed as she watched her go. ( _This is the Alice who will save us all, this Alice who refuses to be Alice._ )

After a moment she followed and watched, hidden in the trees -- the Cheshire Cat had no part to play here after their first meeting, but Yuffie was insatiably curious about everything, so she simply couldn't stay away from Alice. She had to watch her meet the others, and her grin had stretched wider when she'd encountered the Hatter at his tea table. (Curiosity once killed the Cat and even nine lives couldn't bring it back but Yuffie didn't care for cliches.) Below, Alice seemed rather set on arguing with the Hatter, the Dormouse and the Hare on the proper times for tea. An entirely useless waste of time, Yuffie knew, but this Alice was a rather stubborn one. All Alices were, really. It was part of their charm.

"But it's too early for tea!"

"It's never too early for tea!" Kunsel argued, gesturing widely with a half full tea pot that sloshed with every movement. (If he wasn't careful, Yuffie thought with amusement, he was going to end up spilling hot tea into the sugar bowl where Zack was hiding with his own cup. Why the Dormouse thought sitting in the sugar bowl was a good idea was beyond her, but to each their own.)

With a sigh Alice subsided, clearly seeing it was a battle she could not win. Instead, conversation turned to other, more boring, matters and Yuffie let her mind and attention wander far away.  _I wonder if he ever finished making my hat? I should like to see it if so._ Suddenly impatient for Alice to move on so that she could ask Cloud about it, Yuffie turned her attention back to the group below.

Why in the world was Kunsel  _dancing?_

* * *

Alice was doing the story all wrong.

That was, she wasn't doing the story  _at all_. Instead, she had apparently decided she  _liked_  the Hatter (and by 'like', Yuffie meant she fancied herself _in love with him_ , and that just  _would not do_ ) and wanted to stay with him until she figured out how to get home again. And Cloud, because he was too nice to ever say no to anyone, had simply agreed and taken her home with him.

(But then, nothing of Wonderland could ever deny their precious Alice anything she asked of them. Deep down, Yuffie knew that she'd have said yes too, if Alice had only asked.)

Yuffie scowled as she trailed behind the pair unseen and unheard. Alice, as far as she could tell, had absolutely abhorrent situational awareness and hadn't even  _noticed_ that she was being followed by anyone at all but Cloud, despite no blatant indications he was aware, was slightly tense and his wings quivered enough to let Yuffie knew he could sense her. Purposely, the Cat stepped on a twig as she picked up her pace, to let him know she wasn't trying to hide. It would be horribly unfair to leave him tense and alert for enemies when there were none but herself here.

"This is not how Alice's story goes," she commented brightly as she caught up to them; Cloud relaxed immediately and his feathers smoothed down. Yuffie brushed a few fingers over them lightly on the side opposite of Alice and smiled sharply.

"Well it's a good thing I am not Alice, then."

 _This again?_   Yuffie wondered.  _Didn't I already explain this earlier?_ She opened her mouth to reply, but Cloud beat her to it, explaining  _exactly what she had before_. And Alice smiled and nodded along. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she smothered the unfamiliar feeling and turned her attention to a squirrel in the trees."The Queen is watching," she stated abruptly after a moment of silence, and Cloud slanted a glance her way for a moment before he nodded sharply.

"So she is. Come along Alice, quickly now." His arm slipped around the brunette's waist and Yuffie felt another flash of that odd emotion as the Hatter swept Alice off her feet and threw himself into the air. Heading for the treetops, Yuffie followed in his wake as he flew away.

There were plans to make and an Alice to protect, and the Red Queen would only suffer an Alice in her lands for so long before she would send the White Rabbit she'd chained to herself to end the story. ( _Off with her head!_ she would say, and off it would go. Only the first Alice had ever finished her story properly and for that victory Cloud had been stripped of his time, a cursed existence as punishment for his part in aiding young Alice.)

* * *

The insufferable woman! Couldn't she tell the story  _right_? It'd been _days_ since she'd attached herself to Cloud and stalled the story. Miffed, Yuffie turned away from the view of Cloud and Alice on the blanket, though she kept one ear on their conversation; it took a lot of effort not to reveal herself when Alice began straying into  _personal_ territory.  _It's not that hard to do this right! It's as if she's never heard her own tale!_ _  
_

Though, Yuffie supposed that she couldn't deny the magic of Wonderland was so much  _stronger_ than it normally would be by now. Was it the result of Alice doing something unexpected, instead of traveling the same old paths?  _It does delight in new and interesting twists..._  But still! There was a right way to go about things, and  _fawning over her Hatter was not it!_  

No, not her Hatter. She rubbed her face with a soft sigh of frustration. Then bit her tongue when Alice's voice floated up to her seat among the leaves where she sat, slowly shredding them into tiny green bits. Maybe she should go? There were a lot of things she needed to do, to make sure Alice  _did_ eventually get home safely, once her part was done and JENOVA had been dethroned for good. _  
_

_(A Cat's job is never done. Pity Alice never really knows just how much Cheshire does behind the scenes, all to get the poor darling home_ _safely,_ whispered a traitorous voice in the back of her thoughts.) With a backward glance to catch Cloud's eye -- because he always knew when she was there-- Yuffie left 

( _fled_ )

to find Sephiroth.

* * *

"You're certain she's the one who will end this?" The White Rabbit's ears twitched lightly, and Yuffie shrugged as she turned to look out over the courtyard.  _Was_ she certain?  _No_. But this Alice was the best chance they had, Wonderland's magic was far stronger than it had ever been since the days of the first Alice and she refused to be Alice. Maybe what they had needed all along wasn't Alice, but a  _not-_ Alice.

Wonderland was contrary like that, sometimes.

"She claims not to be Alice, but I'm sure even you've felt the magic since she's arrived." Sephiroth inclined his head slightly, acknowledging the truth behind Yuffie's words; his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"She came through the hole I left behind, so she must be Alice regardless of her claims. But perhaps... Yes, I see. You may be right. Perhaps what we needed was an Alice who thought outside the constraints of her story, one who could find a Question no one else would ever think to ask. Very well." He straightened, his jacket sweeping behind him as he stepped away. "I will bring Alice to the Queen. If we are right, we will be free of the woman shortly. If we're not..." He trailed away, the rest of the sentence unneeded. If they were wrong after all, then it wouldn't matter.

Yuffie watched him go, unsettled. Alice would be brought to the Red Queen for trial, whether she liked it or not. ( _Please let us be right this time. I can't bear another Alice without her head_.)

* * *

_They said I had one question, and that I must use it to defeat the Red Queen or she would cut off my head. But how do I stymie the Caterpillar?_

"The defendant may ask her question now." The Red Queen sat smugly atop her chair, staring down at the brunette in the chair before her.

"Are you guilty?" Alice finally asked, and the world held its breath as the Red Queen froze.

"Pardon me," JENOVA asked eventually, eyebrows up. "But could you repeat that? I'm not sure I heard you correctly."

"I  _said_ ,  _Are you guilty?_ That is my Question."

Yuffie chewed on her lower lip beside Cloud, eyes wide. That was... Alice's Question made no  _sense_. And yet... And yet, it was working. She felt Cloud tremble slightly beside her and without thinking she slid her hand into his, squeezing tightly. He recognized the tactic Alice was using, the meaning behind her choice where Yuffie clearly did not, but in the end JENOVA was faltering.

"Young lady--"

"It's a simple question.  _Are_ you guilty?"

JENOVA paused again, fumbling around for an answer. How could she answer such a question? There were so many answers but none at the same time-- was she guilty? What was she guilty of? How was she guilty,  _who_ was guilty JENOVA or Ifalna?  _She didn't know_.

And for a creature that was knowledge given flesh, a small Caterpillar full of knowledge but never any wisdom turned parasite, it was a death sentence. How could knowledge itself  _not know_? The Red Queen slumped on her throne before lifting her head and blinking clear eyes, and Yuffie's eyes widened further, nearly crushing Cloud's hand in hers as it sank in.

JENOVA was gone, and the true Red Queen had returned to them.

"She did it," Yuffie whispered softly, turning to Cloud who looked just as shell shocked as she herself felt. "Alice -- Tifa -- has defeated JENOVA.  _Cloud, we're free_."

He nodded numbly, eyes flicking across the courtroom before landing upon Alice again; her chest tightened when he smiled brilliantly, letting go of Yuffie to swing Alice in a joyous circle. As if shattering a spell, the abrupt movement had the room in a flurry as everyone began to celebrate. For a few moments Yuffie tried to join in, but the vision of Cloud twirling a laughing Alice in the middle of the room wouldn't leave her mind, and she slipped away.

Only the Hatter noticed, pressing a kiss to the back of Alice's hand before making his goodbyes and going after the grinless Cat.

* * *

"Why aren't you in there celebrating with the rest of them?" Perched on a tree branch, Yuffie ignored it when Cloud joined her with a soft flutter of wings; she felt a hand settle on her head for a moment before it left, and she picked harder at the tree bark.  _Why aren't you in there with Alice?_

"I would have thought you to be celebrating with us. You've always been so disappointed when Alice failed, I'm surprised you aren't happy that she has finally succeeded."

"I am happy just..." Yuffie paused, trying to figure out the words of what she was feeling. "You love Alice," she settled on finally.  _Not me_.

"Silly Cat. Of course I love Alice, don't we all? And this Alice most of all, for she has defeated JENOVA and returned my time, allowing me to live again." Cloud paused to pull a hat from beneath his cloak as Yuffie looked away. "But Alice comes and goes and I simply do not have the time to chase after wandering souls."

"Yeah, but--"

"Hush. You've always been here Yuffie. Even when my time was taken and I could not move forward you stayed by my side. You  _gave up_ your own form to Aerith in return for the power to stay with me, and I'd think my choice obvious in the face of that."

The Cat flushed darkly, a hand lifting reflexively to grab the brim of the hat as Cloud dropped it over her hair. Ears slipped into the holes he'd cut into the brim, and she felt her chest tighten slightly.

"Cloud--"

"Didn't you tell me once that it was pointless to wonder about things that can't be changed? You won't change my mind, Yuffie. I may love Alice but no Alice has ever loved me quite as much as my Cat has and no Alice ever will. Now be a dear and come help me with my hats. You've always been my best model."

Yuffie couldn't help it. She laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're leaving again." It wasn't a question, and Cloud paused in the motion of packing his bags as Yuffie came to a stop in the doorway. Neither spoke for a moment, and finally Cloud resumed packing, head jerking in a rough nod. He couldn't deny it, not when it was so obvious; he'd never been one for lying to Yuffie anyway, not when there was so little for her to hold on. Even with the restoration of Radiant Garden, the long held habit of truthfulness to the ninja held firm.

"I've got -- I'm looking for something, Yuffie." An old claim, but the truth. He just didn't know  _what_ he was looking for.  ( _"I'm looking for my light."_

_Aerith smiles quietly, but it doesn't reach her eyes and she reaches out to touch Cloud's hand gently. "And what is your light, Cloud?"_

_"I don't know. I just... Need to find it. It's out there somewhere, and I'll keep searching until I have it again."_ )

Something niggled on his mind, some long forgotten memory, one that tries to get his attention every time he comes back to Radiant Garden, but he's never stood still and listened long enough to remember what he'd forgotten.

( _"Where did you lose it?"_

_"I don't know. But I think I lost it when our world fell into darkness. She's out there somewhere."_

_"She?"  Aerith's voice is full of laughter, as always and Cloud flushes slightly, looking away._

_"I-- I think so. 'She' was my light."_ )

Cloud heard Yuffie sigh, but he didn't turn around. "I'll come back."

( _"I don't think you're looking for your light, Cloud." Aerith is gentle when she says it, and Cloud scowls in her direction. Why do people always feel the need to tell him that he's wrong?_

_"Then what am I looking for?"_

_"I think you're searching for your home."_

_"Radiant Garden's been restored."_

_"But is it home?"_

_"What's that even supposed to mean?"_

_Another sad smile, and Aerith pats his cheek gently. "Home is where you put your heart, Cloud. And I don't think Radiant Garden was ever where you left yours." A memory flashes behind his eyes, a little girl with a handful of flowers surrounded by even more and a brightbright smile as she promised that she'd marry him when they were all grown up. No, Radiant Garden had never been where he placed his heart._

_But he can't remember where he had, and he's afraid that the darkness may have kept it, even when it gave everything else back.)  
_

* * *

Yuffie followed after Cloud, let him get as far as the gummy ship Sora's lent him before she grabbed his sleeve and he paused to look down at her. Wide eyed, she stared up at him intently, searching for something in his face. "What are you searching for? You -- Sora said you told Tifa you were searching for your light, but what are you  _really_ looking for, Cloud?" The blond flinched slightly, turning away to store his bag in the ship as he heard Aerith's voice once more.  _Home is where you put your heart, Cloud._

"Home," he admitted softly, not looking as Yuffie frowned to herself. "That's what I'm trying to find."

"...You don't mean a place," Yuffie said finally, hand touching his sleeve again. Cloud shook his head, and felt Yuffie sigh more than he heard it. She always understood him, sometimes even before he understood himself, and he wondered for just a second if maybe she was searching for a home too. ( _Always lingering just on the edges of the group, never quite a part of it and she was always so loud and bright and distracting that no one ever noticed she was holding herself apart, like there was somewhere (someone) else she wanted to be (with)._ )

"No," he agreed aloud, silent a moment too long.

Yuffie's hand dropped back to her side, and the petite ninja sighed softly, stepping away. Cloud shifted, pausing as he caught her expression and realized that she was gearing up for something -- gathering her courage, and she was going to say something entirely ridiculous--

"Have you ever thought that maybe you were so busy looking everywhere but here for your home that you never even saw it when it was right here in front of you?" She was almost satisfied to see the surprise in his eyes as she spokes. It changed into confusion, and then slowly, comprehension. Cloud reached out, and Yuffie met him halfway as he made a soft noise in the back of his throat.

"Maybe I should have looked harder." His bag was still in the ship he noted, leaning back against the vehicle as Yuffie followed his motion.

"Maybe. You're still leaving, aren't you?"

He paused. He didn't need to search anymore, true but... He was never really comfortable in Radiant Garden; he much preferred the Coliseum and other worlds, and from the look on her face she knew exactly where his thoughts were going.

"You could come with me."

"As if I'd let you leave me behind _again_." Cloud's lips twitched, and he lifted Yuffie up to let her scramble into the cockpit ahead of him. He climbed up after her, pausing long enough to start the ship's autopilot before he pulled her into his lap and covered her mouth with his own.

"No more leaving you behind," he promised.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On one hand there is winged Cloud, on the other there is the Erl King and the Hunt. Today, the Erl won. As usual, I play the mix and match game when it comes to canon, headcanon and fae lore. Also as usual, I don't tell you which is which.
> 
> Aerith is sort of the bad guy here just because I needed Yuffie to be willing to go to what she thinks is her death, and doing it for someone she cared about was better than being forced into it for someone she hated. In Aerith's defense she wasn't trying to be malicious or get Yuffie hurt, she's just slightly spoiled and didn't think the consequences of pissing off a fae through.

_("if you want to woo me, then bring me the pelt of the Erl King's prized hound" she'd whispered sweetly under the full moon)_

She is an offering to the forest, wreathed in flowers and pretty silks with bare feet and a fistful of smoky, burning lavender clutched tightly in her fingers; an offering to the dark forest and the otherwordly fae that inhabit it, the  _sacrifice_ to appease their king's call for blood.

His most prized hound had been slain by one of the local lord's boys, a  _gift_ for the mayor's daughter and such an act demands retribution.

But Aerith is the village darling and Yuffie's best -- only-- friend and her lover the heir of a lord. When the village elders decided to throw an uncared for orphan girl on the fae's mercy, Yuffie had gone with her head held high.

* * *

" _You are not the one who killed my hound._ " Cloud wished he could be surprised, but the selfishness of humans had long since ceased to do so. The girl shook her head minutely, and he sighed to himself under the stag skull that covered his face. She was terrified of course, even if she had hidden it well from the humans. He'd watched her from the moment she had set foot into his forest, the way she stalked forward with her head high and eyes facing forward.

She'd been trembling since she'd entered the treeline that morning. Curiously, he tilted his head and studied her.

"...No," she admitted softly.

 _"Nor are you the one who caused my hound's death._ "

Another minute shake of the head in response, and he stepped forward to study her even closer. Interesting.

" _They gave you to me, a sacrifice for another._ "

A sharp intake of breath before the girl straightened sharply. "I volunteered. F-for my friend. She is my friend."

Abruptly he was in her space, and Yuffie flinched back without thought, another sharp breath on her lips as Cloud stared at her face. Not local stock, he noted absently, but probably taken in by the village when she was a child. Even more interesting that she had volunteered for what was clearly expected to be certain death (and would have been, had she been been guilty of his hound's slaughter) to protect the actual guilty parties. He stepped back again, turning away.

" _They gave you to me. As such, you are mine to do as I please. Come._ " Without waiting for a response, he strode deeper into the forest. Yuffie swallowed, her feet moving before she had registered what was happening.

* * *

Yuffie felt the questions crowding behind her teeth as they moved through the silent forest, but didn't speak. Why hadn't he killed her on the spot? That had been what he'd wanted Aerith for, after all. Spilt blood of a fae could only be repaid in spilt blood, yet she was still alive -- perhaps he intended to kill her somewhere else? Was he going to torture her first? A fervant prayer that he wouldn't ran through her mind for a moment, only to be forgotten as she realized that the dusty trail she'd been led down had shifted into what felt like gravel under her toes.

 _"Welcome to my castle,_ " the Erl King murmured beside her. The strange echoing quality of his voice made her shiver again, but the beautiful if dark castle captured her attention and held it, a strange otherwordly presence seeping under her skin at the mere sight of it. " _I've decided to keep you_ ," he continued, and Yuffie felt her stomach drop out at the statement.

" _You were given to me, after all_."

She swallowed, nodding slowly. She couldn't actually refuse; even if she had, she had nowhere to go and it was doubtful she could find her way back without help.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when his fingers brushed her cheek, eyes ripping away to find he had invaded her space again. Cold bone brushed the space his fingers had, and he whispered in her ear, " _And what shall I call you, little mortal mine?"_

Yuffie's breath hitched at the question. Her mind nearly screeched to a halt as old warnings washed over her, stories of mortals tricked into giving away their true names to fae only to be ensnared with them.  _Names held unspeakable power when freely shared -- to know a fae's name is to bend it to your whims but to share your own is to give them power over you!_ But she didn't have much choice, did she? She was never going home -- he had made that clear, and the village would never accept her back even if she escaped.

She unstuck her tongue, opening her mouth to answer, but her voice died in her throat.

She couldn't bring herself to say, wincing when he laughed suddenly.

" _Good girl. Never give a fae your name, without a promise in return._ " The gates behind him slammed open and he gestured her forward lightly, into the courtyard of his castle.

" _Of course, you'll need something to call me, won't you?_ " He strode forward a few steps before pausing as Yuffie caught up to him, bright blue eyes staring down at her from the skull that was his face. " _Strife, mortal mine. You may call me Strife._ "

That was... terrifying.

* * *

She was a mousy little thing, Cloud decided as he led her to the chambers she would be calling her own from now on. Quiet, timid. He wasn't sure how he felt about it just yet.

What, exactly, he was going to do with her was a question he hadn't decided an answer to, but with his interest as piqued as it was it wouldn't take him long to decide. For now though, he would get her settled into her new rooms and let her sleep -- mortal bodies needed far more rest and maintenance than fae, and despite her valiant attempts to hide it, the girl was struggling with exhaustion and fear.

It was as he was finally turning to leave her that she answered his question from the courtyard softly, so much so he almost missed it.

"Yu." Going still in the doorway, he hummed softly.  _Yu_. An interesting name for an interesting girl, he mused thoughtfully.

"Goodnight then, Yu." As he closed the door behind him, Cloud smiled.

He liked the way her name tasted on his tongue.


End file.
